R.I.P. — Secret Life of the American Teenager Actress Loses Battle With Cancer

Amid all the joy and happiness of the holidays, the Secret Life of the American Teenager family is dealing with an unfortunate loss.Deborah Raffin — the actress who had a recurring role on the ABC Family drama as Amy’s (Shailene Woodley) family pediatrician, Dr. Hightower — passed away on Wednesday, November 22, at the age of 59. Deadlinereports that Deborah had been battling leukemia for the past year.Deborah’s career consisted of a whole lot more than simply confirming that Amy Juergens was pregnant and encouraging her to tell her family the truth. Deadline deems her the “quintessential California blonde TV movie/mini-series ingenue” of the 1970s-80s-90s, and she also co-founded an audiobook publishing company with then-husband Michael Viner, which later became a multi-million dollar business.Our thoughts go out to her family and friends during this difficult time.Source: Deadline